You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. – C.S. Lewis

Angel Food Baby Cakes (GFCF)

When I was still finding my way around the kitchen and in food, recipes like angel food cake daunted me because of the amount of egg whites used. But as I’ve gone on, I end up having lots of leftover egg whites, in the freezer, at my disposal, from making custard and lemoncurds, to name some. I’m not that fond of using pasteurized egg whites that are bought in a little carton at the store since they don’t whip well, for some reason; they only get frothy.

Two weeks I was stuck with the sudden wanting to make angel food cake. After some Googling around, I came across my friend Amy‘s recipe. Almost everything I needed was on hand and I was only delayed in making it by waiting for the egg whites to thaw overnight. I did it all by hand – even whipping the egg whites; it was opportunity to try out my new ball whisk.

Ever since I made that video for those flourless chocolate cupcakes, I’ve only been whipping egg whites by hand, even when I have a food processor that can do the job for me. But until I’ve worn myself out or my arms decide to give out – whichever comes first – I prefer doing the job myself. Plus, I joke that I’m helping tone my arms when I do it.

I’ve been asked how a ball whisk’s performance compares to a regular balloon whisk. The ball is supposed to help beat more air into the eggs or whatever it is your whipping. I’ve never whipped as much as twelve egg whites all at once by hand, but it seemed that it was faster to whip with the ball whisk, or it could have simply been a result of my practicing whipping egg whites by hand. (It took me about eight minutes. ) As for cleaning, it’s as easy to clean like any other bulbous whisk. After I’m done using it, I rinse it right away or let it soak before anything has a chance to dry.

These really are cupcakes, but I personally refer to them as baby cakes just because of their squat size. I thought they would rise more, but after seeing this recipe on Not Quite Nigella, it seems that with the nature of angel food cake, in cupcake form, you have to fill up to how tall you want the cupcakes to be. I filled mine only halfway full, which is why I’m calling them baby cakes, or half-pint cupcakes.

I made them from previously frozen egg whites, but Amy says that using fresh or previously frozen egg whites work in this recipe. The only things I tweaked a bit was using 1/2 cup white rice flour, instead of 1/4 cup superfine sweet rice flour and 1/4 cup white rice flour as I’m out of the first right now, and substituting the tapioca starch with cornstarch. I also used honey instead of agave nectar.

This was my first time to make a gluten-free cupcake recipe with grains, and I must say it’s one of the best.

Make sure that the egg whites are at room temperature. This will take about an hour.

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line two standard muffin tins with paper cupcake liners. Lay two pieces of wax paper, 10 inches in length, on your counter, and sift the flours and xanthum gum three times: first putting the dry ingredients into the sifter on one piece of wax paper and sifting, then moving to the other piece of wax paper and dumping the sifted flours from the wax paper and sifting one more time. (I don’t currently have a flour sifter, so I improvised with a stainless steel food cover and it did the trick.)

Beat the egg whites until they start getting frothy. Add the salt and continue beating until the egg whites are billowy mounds. Pour in the honey, 1 tablespoon at a time, into the egg whites while continuing to beat, until all the honey is folded in and the egg whites are soft peaks. Add the vanilla extract and lemon juice. Sift the mixed flours into the egg whites, 3 tablespoons at a time, and gently fold into the egg whites. Make sure to cut down to the bottom of the batter and lift it up over the rest of the egg whites.

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups and fill up to how tall you want the cupcakes. They will rise but not much. Use a knife to cut through the batter to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown and surface springs back when firmly pressed. When the cupcakes are done, remove from the oven and place the muffin tins on a wire rack, leaving to cool completely. (In my experience, it’s easier to peel away the liner from a cupcake after it’s been left to properly cool.) Serve with a berry compote, spread some jam on them, or whatever you like. Enjoy!

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17 thoughts on “Angel Food Baby Cakes (GFCF)”

Ooh! Yum! I just bought 4 dozen soy-free farm fresh eggs at the farmers market! I wanted to take advantage of getting them since they are not always available there. But i was wondering what i was going to do with all of them A perfect recipe to use some of them up! Thanks Zoe (and Amy)!!

Aren’t these adorable! And how perfect for a single gal like me that would love to indulge in some sort of shortcake (peach shortcake perhaps?) but doesn’t want to have huge servings! (I like that they are ‘squat’ :D) And yes, I can’t believe you whipped that many eggs by hand!?! Impressive 🙂

Thanks, Chelsey! Whipping egg whites by hand does indeed take a while, but it gets faster with more practice. 🙂 Although, of course, I’m not discounting the usefulness and convenience of modern kitchen appliances. I just like doing some things the old-fashioned way, sometimes.

Amy’s recipe does use an angel food cake pan, I just opted for cupcakes as I currently don’t have an angel food cake pan. For a regular angel food cake, follow Amy’s instructions, baking it at the same temperature for 50 to 60 minutes. Hope that helps!

I’m so sorry I didn’t make it over here sooner…I’ve been traveling more than I care to lately and I haven’t quite figured out how to juggle my schedule.

Your half-pints are adorable. They are too cute!! I bet they taste just as good as they look. Bravo!

I would also opt for my KitchenAid, but I use it for everything. I think I’d go crazy without it. How could I walk around the kitchen and whip egg whites at the same time? Did you spray the cups before you baked them? I know that my angel food cakes turn out the best in a regular aluminum pan – not non-stick. I imagine that ungreased paper would have the same effect.

Thanks, Amy! 😀 I didn’t spray the cups – I never do when I’m using them for baking. A KitchenAid is something I want to get, especially since you mentioned how it can use it to make ice cream, too, with the proper attachment – it sounds so perfect! Heck, a KitchenAid may just be an almost all-purpose kitchen appliance with all the different attachments you can get for it.